Apple Hand-Me-Downs

To most Apple fanboys, an Apple event day like today can feel like Christmas. Excitement and anticipation of new toys (let's be honest, now, they are toys) is enough to get anyone of any age excited.

I'm guilty of being vain enough to want to have the latest and greatest gear. That doesn't mean you have to be, though.

The great thing about an Apple event for the average consumer and not a tech-crazie like me is the hand-me-down factor.

The hand-me-down factor is just like it sounds: when other people get rid of their devices, you can take advantage of that opportunity and get their hand-me-downs. Sites like Gazelle.com will buy your used gadgets at a great price and turn around and sell them to average consumers. Like you. Like your wife. Like the minister on a limited budget. Like the youth minister on an extremely limited budget.

With devices now, especially Apple devices, hand-me-downs are almost as good as the newest, shiniest products. I have a year-old iPhone 5 and love it. My wife has a two-year old iPhone 4S and she's looking to upgrade. We have an iPad 2 that's over 2 years old, and it has some dings and scratches but works fine. Having the latest and greatest has its perks, but usually you can make do with a previous generation.

If you're not playing graphics-heavy games or pushing your hardware to extremes, odds are you can get by with the last model of a certain device. Apple products are great because you can usually run the latest versions of software even on 2+ year-old devices.

There's a whole ecosystem that has sprung up around hand-me-down devices, and odds are you can get a phone that's only one or two years old off-contract for a couple of hundred dollars. Off-contract phones at full price are $650 for the lowest model.

So go check out Gazelle.com's eBay store, which is sure to see an influx of product in the coming weeks) and also look at your local Craigslist. Odds are you can get a great deal on a one or two year old phone and keep up with the pace of technology.

ABOUT ME

My name is Chad Landman - I'm an education minister, speaker, writer and designer. Oh, and I'm also a family man. If you want to get in touch, check out my Contact page and I'll get back with you soon.